Russian Roulette
by AmyFawkes
Summary: Tsuna and his guardians try to get Byakuran to negotiate with them diplomatically in order to settle things between their families, but Byakuran only accepts under one condition: they'd have to talk over a game of Russian Roulette. / TYL. Warning: Character Death.


"A game," the white-haired man said, "of Russian Roulette."

The guardians all grimaced, exchanging glances. '_This is a trap,'_ they all concluded with just the looks between their eyes. The man simply stood there with that same mocking smile.

"I won't have those so called 'diplomatic' talks with you without it. Just talking is too boring." He twirled a gun in his hand. "Don't worry. It'll be a friendly game, it's not even a real bullet," he pulled the trigger, and out came confetti and even some marshmallows, laughing.

Tsuna pursed his lips. Yeah, he fell for _that_ trick ten years ago with Reborn, who so slyly put a dying will bullet in the gun instead of the party bullet like he'd promised, causing Kyoko to shoot herself with the real thing. Although, this was different. It wasn't going to be just some cruel joke for learning. It was going to be an actual death, and nobody was going to come back to life with nothing on but a flame on their head.

"So? What about it, hmm?"

"Tenth, we should leave," the right hand man spoke up. "He's not going to talk it out with us." The silver-haired man glared at the villain, who only raised his eyebrows in unamusement.

"Ah, you're all so cynical. I just want to play a game," he whined childishly, receiving glares from half of the men present. "You want diplomacy, I am offering you diplomacy."

"No, Hayato," the boss said. "He _will_ talk it out with us." His amber eyes glowed determinedly, and the flame on his head roared to life with resolve.

"Tsuna," the swordsman spoke up. "We should give it up. He won't."

"He will," the brunet argued, his position unshaken.

"Why don't we play the game, then?" the only teen among the adults spoke up, his words brave but his hands shaking. "Give him what he wants, and he'll give us what we want."

"Shut up, you dumb cow," Hayato barked. "He's not going to give us what we want. And anyway, what he wants is for us to be dead. Ya' really want to give him that?" The child only frowned and shook his head. The man simply chortled once more.

"Ahhn~ seeing through me?" The smile didn't change, but the malice did. "That's right! I want someone to die!" He laughed joyfully, his happy tone of voice contradicting the morbidity of his words.

"I'll play."

All eyes turned towards the brunet in shock and disbelief. Standing firm to his ground, not even a hint of fear in his now-brown eyes. His flame burned out, making him look slightly less threatening but all the more frightening that he would take the offer.

Perhaps frightening was not the right word. Perhaps foolish.

Byakuran let out a laugh. "Ahh!~ Seems like the little boss knows how to have fun!" His face morphed into a serious one as he glanced around the room with narrow eyes. "Who else wants to play?" A malicious smile touched his lips. "Perhaps so you can watch your beloved Tsunayoshi-kun die? Or maybe so he can watch you die?"

Hayato jumped at the opportunity, about to rashly volunteer, but Tsuna calmly held up a hand to stop him. The guardians went silent, waiting for their leader's word. Tsuna looked back to see their anticipating faces. Every single one of them looked ready to play along as well, even if just before none had even dared to consider the idea. Touched, Tsuna gave his guardians a gentle smile. One that echoed goodbye.

"Look at them, Tsunayoshi-kun," the light voice from behind him mocked. "How readily they would all die for you."

"I know," Tsuna said, closed his eyes. "That's why I should repay the favor." The boss turned around. "This game of roulette will be one-on-one."

A collective gasp sounded through the room, and for a moment, the world was still and had forgotten how to breathe. The room seemed already dead in those few seconds. Everyone held their breath as if it could hold Tsuna back.

The boss slowly exhaled. "Let's go, Byakuran."

"Boss, you can't!" a girl cried from the back, pushing her way to the front, her chest heaving as tears pooled in her eye. "It's a trap, boss, and you know that!"

"Sawada, don't be a fucking idiot," the dark-haired cloud guardian growled quietly.

"Juudaime…" Above all, the singular word from his right hand seemed to pierce him with pain most. He didn't dare to look back. He didn't want to see them hurt.

He took another step forward to his murderer.

The guardians shouted their protests, but to everyone's surprise, it was Hayato who held out his arm to stop them all. "…he's going to be okay, I trust Juudaime," he said quietly. "Come back safely, we are waiting."

Tsuna lifted his head, letting a smile grace his lips as he strode forth with pride and confidence. Of all his guardians, Hayato was always the one who trusted him no matter the choices he made. That trust was all he needed.

He was surprised when he was stopped by a smaller body hugging him from behind. Twisting his body around, he saw the lone teenager of his guardians, his face buried in his blazer and his horns in disarray. With a gentle smile, Tsuna pried the boy off of him, kneeling a bit and fixing his horns, wiping his tears. "Tsuna-nii, don't die," Lambo weeped.

Tsuna just smiled, and held Lambo's hands. "Look, everything in going to be okay. Everything will work out." He leaned down to give a kiss on the young boy's cheek, lingering there for a moment to whisper something in his ear. The boy's eyes widened before he sniffled a bit more and hugged the man. Tsuna smiled again, hugging the boy back before letting go and turning around once more, advancing toward death.

Byakuran simply laughed as Tsuna walked past him down the hall to the conference room. "There will be a live feed of the room on the television screen," he said, "so you can watch your precious boss die." He gave a villainous smile to the guardians, who grimaced at the expression. Swiftly, the white-haired man spun around and turned the corner, the sound of a slamming door resonating through the room.

.

.

.

The gun cocked.

"So, Tsunayoshi-kun, have you played Russian Roulette before?" Byakuran sang as he spun the barrel of the revolver. Tsuna eyed the gun cautiously, not looking up at the man as he answered.

"Yes," he muttered. "Who's going first?"

Byakuran smiled, his eyes narrowing. "You pick."

He took a long look at the gun before glancing up to Byakuran. "I will." Byakuran grinned, handing the gun over to Tsuna. He took it in his hands, examining it a bit to make sure it wasn't rigged—to which Byakuran took a mocking offense to—before pointing it to himself. His finger hung loosely on the trigger. "Were you actually going to talk diplomatically, or was it all a ruse in order to get one of us to shoot ourselves?"

Byakuran simply giggled. "Oh, I'm not untrue to my word, Tsunayoshi-kun. What kind of diplomatic stuff didja want to talk about? Family Alliances? Perhaps a trade—you and the rings for the safety of the Vongola?"

"An alliance, perhaps." Tsuna narrowed his eyes at the second suggestion. Without as much as a flinch, he pulled the trigger. There was only an empty click. He held the gun back out to Byakuran. "So that in the end nobody will be hurt."

"How hypocritical of you, Tsunayoshi-kun," Byakuran chortled. "If I lose this game, I will be hurt. Is it do or die?" the man said with a laugh, and without a second's hesitation he pulled the trigger on his own head. He passed the gun back to Tsuna. "What would be the terms of the alliance, Vongola Decimo?"

Tsuna grabbed the gun. "You don't bother my family, and we won't wage war."

"No deal~" Byakuran smiled. "What about this? I get the complete Tri-ni-sette, and I'll let Yuni choose if she wants to go to you?"

"No deal," Tsuna grimaced, twirling the gun in his hand, buying some time. "I'd die before I let you obtain the rings," He tapped the muzzle to his temple in indication.

"Oh, but you wouldn't want Yuni's freedom?" Byakuran teased. "How cruel, Tsunayoshi-kun."

"I want Yuni's freedom, but you aren't going to de-brainwash her."

"You don't know that!" The man pressed a hand to his heart, feigning hurt, his mouth hung open in a fake disbelief.

"Your wording was careful. You said you'd let her choose, and because of your brainwashing, she would not choose me," Tsuna scoffed, pressing the gun to his forehead. "I'm not afraid to begin a war with you, Byakuran." He shot. Safe, once more. He slid the gun back

"Me neither," Byakuran laughed, and shot himself. He pulled the gun away from his forehead unharmed, and held the gun back to Tsuna. "So threatening a war will do nothing."

Tsuna frowned. Intuition told him the shot would be the one after this, and he would be safe. There were four fired, so naturally, the bullet was either in this shot or the next. He took the gun. "It seems we can't come to an alliance, hmm…?" He shot himself, and once again, it was safe. He shoved the gun back to Byakuran.

_'This is it,'_ he narrowed his eyes. The last shot, the bullet must be in the sixth round. The threat to the world would be gone, at the cost of one life versus millions. _'Ýeah, this is for the better.'_ It wasn't like it was he himself who killed Byakuran, was it? Bits of regret boiled up inside him. There were thousands of reasons to hate Byakuran, but in the end… wasn't this man still human?

"It seems not. Well, this was fun anyway, Tsunayoshi-kun. Thanks for playing." The smile on his face was unsettling. He held the gun up to his head slowly, as if building up suspense, staring at Tsuna's solemn eyes without glancing away. The corners of his lips pulled up to show a wicked grin. He pulled the trigger.

_Click._

Byakuran laughed and held the gun back to Tsuna. The brunet's eyes widened, his eyes darting between Byakuran and the gun. He inhaled sharply and bit his lips, bewildered.

"What's wrong Tsunayoshi-kun?" His smile spoke as if he already knew.

"That's impossible!" The brunet shouted, lunging forth a bit before stopping himself. He growled like a caged animal, trapped in his doomed position. "There were six rounds, they couldn't all be empty!" Unless… perhaps, Byakuran had never loaded a bullet in the first place.

The white-haired man hummed. "They're not~" He waved the gun about before holding it to Tsuna. Tsuna frowned deeply. Of course there would be a bullet, who was he kidding? "I have a feeling that the bullet is in the next one. Oops, _so_ sorry that you lose!"

A flame roared in Tsuna's amber eyes as he narrowed them. "The bullet should have been in _this_ one," he hissed viciously. "You should have lost."

"Oh, Tsunayoshi-kun." Byakuran tilted his head, putting the gun on the table and pushing it towards the Vongola don. "Gods don't lose."

That's right. There was no way Byakuran could still be human. The regrets washed out of him and Tsuna stood up. "Y—" Tsuna snarled, slamming his hands on the table. "You cheated!"

A sly grin crawled across Byakuran's face. "Hau~ Tsunayoshi-kun, how would you know?" He sang. "Aren't you the one who cheated first? With that…" he stood up, poking a finger to Tsuna's forehead, pushing him back a bit, "hy~per intuition?"

Tsuna grunted, gritting his teeth in response. His eyes darted between the gun and the man holding it. Hesitantly, he took a deep breath and took the gun into his hand. _'This truly is it.'_

"You have the gun." Byakuran's voice dropped its playful tone, though as quickly as it happened it had returned. "You can shoot me now and end it all!" He popped a marshmallow in his mouth, slowly chewing it as if savoring the taste if it was his last one. "Or are you not going to be a _cheater_, Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

Tsuna pursed his lips. Exhale. "You'll never win," he said calmly, bringing the gun to his forehead.

"Oh?" The man raised a mocking eyebrow. "But it seems I already have."

A smile crossed Tsuna's face—a sickeningly kind one that spoke volumes about the Millefiore's destruction. "The battle," he motioned discreetly to himself. "Not the war."

Byakuran's smile faded. "Mn…?" He seemed rather unamused. "How do you know?"

Tsuna grinned. "You can say…" the gun cocked, and he held up his right hand. Byakuran's eyes widened and a frown crossed his face. Where was his _ring?_ "I cheated."

The bang sounded throughout the building.

.

.

.

"Lambo, come here," a high voice cooed. The called boy turned around, shaking, his eyes wide with fear, his hands clutched tightly. Stiffly, he walked over to the female mist guardian. She crouched a bit, resting her hands on his shoulder, her trident tucked in the crook of her arm. "Did he say something to you?" The boy nodded, although only a small whimpering could be heard. He stepped a bit closer, and Chrome wrapped him in a hug, rocking back and forth.

"What was it?" Hayato glanced at the boy sideways, his main focus upon the screen in anticipation.

Lambo pushed himself out of the hug. Taking a deep breath, he walked in front of the screen, obstructing everyone's view and effectively catching their attention.

"Tsuna-nii…" he breathed out slowly. Their stares were boring into him, and he felt like he was going to collapse. "Tsuna-nii said to destroy the rings if he doesn't make it out alive."

"Destroy them?" Hibari stood up straight, his eyes narrowing. "All of them? We'd be losing a valuable power resource."

"He doesn't want Byakuran to get them…" Yamamoto said. "So, the best thing to do is destroy them so neither of us can."

"All of them, yeah." Lambo muttered, hanging his head.

"Something wrong, kid?" The sun guardian frowned at the child's posture.

He held up his hand, which had been in a tightly closed fist the whole time, finally opening it to reveal the sky ring within his palm. "He gave me this." Tears welled up in his eyes. "I don't think he thinks he's gonna make it!" Lambo wailed.

"Don't be ridiculous," Chrome brought him into a hug, and Gokudera took the ring from the teenager's hand. The boy proceeded to hug the woman tight. "I'm sure he did it as a precaution. Boss has a plan."

"Yeah, one plan," Hibari murmured. "It seems to me making it out alive was not part of that plan, but he was hoping to get lucky." He narrowed his eyes at the screen, as if Tsuna could feel his glare.

"If that's the case, what exactly would Tsuna be planning?" Yamamoto frowned.

"Something extreme," Ryohei glanced to the side. "Something dangerous…"

"Something none of us would want, so he didn't tell us," Chrome finished.

"Let's hope it won't come down to that," Hayato said as he examined the sky ring. "Juudaime will make it. We won't have to destroy the rings, I'm sure." He slipped the trinket into his jacket pocket.

"There may be hope, after all."

All attention turned to the cloud guardian, who was staring at the screen. The room went silent, urging him to go on.

"The game has gone through five shots. There are only six rounds in a bullet, meaning this next shot, belonging this Byakuran, should be the bullet." There was a hint of a smirk on Hibari's lips. He looked almost proud of his boss. A bit disappoint that he himself never got to personally bite Byakuran, but nevertheless was proud.

Everyone began to smile, their tensions relaxing quite a bit. Tsuna would make it, this fight with Millefiore would be over—

"Wait."

Chrome pointed to the screen. "The gun, he's passing the gun back. He shot himself, and he didn't die." Her voice raised an octave, squeaking in terror and panic. They all watched as Tsuna slammed his hands on the table, shouting at the other, though no sound was heard.

"The game is rigged," Hayato grimaced. "And boss knows it."

The gunshot sounded.

Everyone's head snapped in the direction of the corridor. A deadly silence coursed through the room. Everyone stopped breathing for a second.

"Destroy the rings…" Lambo whispered eyes wide in fear. Spinning on his heel, he tore the lightning ring off of his hand and threw it to the floor. "Destroy them _NOW!_" the boy screamed, his foot colliding with the ring on the floor with a crack. He breathed heavily, his eyes crazed and wide with tears blurring his vision.

It didn't take a second thought for most of the guardians, for the cracking of several other rings followed suit. The footsteps were coming down the corridor, and fast.

They would not let this happen.

The white haired man appeared before them, oblivious of the destruction. "Seems like you've lost, Vongola."

Ryohei scowled, stepping forward. "We haven't lost anything to you, Byakuran." He tightened his fist, and a muffled crack was heard. Byakuran raised his eyebrow at the curious sound.

"Except your pitiful boss. He was such a good partner to play with too, what a shame!" The man shrugged with a laugh. "By the way, before he _shot himself_," he stressed the words, and everyone grimaced, "we had agreed that you were to give me the Vongola rings, and I would let Yuni go to you… if she wanted to, I mean!~"

"As if." Ryohei opened his hand, and let the crumbles of his ring fall to the ground.

Byakuran's smile faded as his eyes trailed to the ground, his face morphing to something uglier by the second. "You… all of you monsters, what have you done?" he said in lame attempts to keep his composure. "This must be a ruse. You wouldn't destroy something with so much power."

"We'd destroy you," Yamamoto smiled menacingly, crushing his own as well. Byakuran looked as though he was losing strength with every one that was crumbled to bits.

"I'll wage war," the man hissed violently.

The silver-haired man pulled out the sky ring from his pocket, his glare fixated on the white-haired man. He dropped it to the floor. In silent horror, Byakuran watched as the man stomped mercilessly on the trinket, watching it crumble to pieces as if it were sand. Since when had the rings been so fragile? Certainly it was fake. Certainly…

The man stepped out in front of the rest of the guardians, his eyes narrowed, his teeth bared. The guardians behind him stood tall, unrelenting despite having lost their most important member. And all eyes were fixed on the man with the purple tattoo.

Hayato scoffed at him.

"We already have."


End file.
